New Moon in Virgo, September 18, 2009

I doubt if there are many people who follow astrology who are unaware that Friday’s New Moon at 25°59′ Virgo conjoins the Saturn end of the Saturn-Uranus opposition in Virgo-Pisces. This opposition, exact this week, gives extra weight to this lunation.

Because Mercury, Virgo’s ruler, is part of the Virgo stellium, it would appear to tilt the seesaw in Virgo’s favor over Uranus in Pisces, the sole body on the other end of the opposition. While I’m not entirely sure Uranus is not an even match, I do believe it is an opportunity to look more deeply into the sixth house-twelfth house theme of service.

We are more familiar with the idea of serving others, but often pay less attention to the importance of serving ourselves. Both Virgo and Pisces tend to devote time and energy seeing to the health and well-being of their loved ones, their co-workers, and humanity in general. However, both are also inclined to neglect their personal lives in favor of those others.

As someone with Virgo on the Midheaven, I have experienced numerous occasions when the demands of my job and my family took precedence over my own needs — so much so that I frequently run myself into the ground and am forced to take considerable downtime to recover. The lesson of this New Moon is to remember to regularly take time solely for ourselves so we can return to the fray, ready for action.

An opposition can promote polarization or it can provide the means to see what is out of balance. This New Moon is not only flanked by Mercury but by Pallas as well. Pallas in Virgo offers a dispassionate clarity of vision so essential for cutting through the rhetoric to the core issues. It is more than past time to stop looking at our differences and to see our commonalities. Both signs on either end of this opposition are concerned with healing and will be more than happy to support efforts in that direction.

Just in case all a person wants to do is offer lip service instead of a real commitment to healing breaches, please recall Pluto in Capricorn is closely square Mercury right now and is capable of enforcing the need for honesty and integrity. All we have to do is read the headlines to see examples of people in positions of authority caught out of bounds. Keep in mind also that Pluto is going to be in Capricorn for many years to come . . . this is just the beginning!

Neptune in Aquarius currently is enjoying one last romantic dance with Venus in Leo before she leaves the ball and moves into the calm of Virgo on September 19. This is a signal the party is about over and it’s time to get ready to go back to work once more.

The inconjunct, or quincunx, between the Virgo stellium and Neptune in Aquarius is an uneasy association, because Virgo never quite believes that all of those lofty ideals Aquarius promotes can ever be penciled out. This one works far better if those ideas inspired by the mutual reception of Neptune and Uranus can be turned over to the worker bees represented by the Virgo stellium. Just stand back and let them do their job, because they are very good at it.

For the New Moon, the Sabian symbol is 26 Virgo, “A boy with a censer serves near the priest at the altar.” Genuine humility is often associated with Virgo, and Taurus Harry S. Truman said it best: It is amazing what you can accomplish if you do not care who gets the credit. This is an attitude I can wholeheartedly support, because we need a whole bunch of quality Indians to offset the superfluity of chiefs.

It is easy to get caught up in hype and drama now, making it all the more important to maintain the rhythm of our daily lives with grace and dignity. It is highly unlikely the sky will fall tomorrow, but if we have done our best to live each day to the fullest, it won’t matter. Virgo is a sign devoted to minding their own business, and this is a great time to do the same ourselves. Remember to treat others with care, patience and kindness, now and always.

posted by Neith . . .

Of course, today is the day to write your New Moon abundance checks! Here’s how.

I had to laugh while reading your post – I realized that this week’s Saturn/Uranus opposition lands directly on top of my natal Uranus in the 11th, and I’m in the middle of my Uranus opposition, too- it seems like transiting Uranus has been in my 5th house forever, and my creative efforts have been, well, short-circuited. Half-written novel in the drawer.)

Add the New Moon to that and, oh yes- my natal Uranus is one leg of a yod, with Saturn in Aries in the 6th house (more Virgo).

It’s a lot of emphasis on one point! It’s hard to tell which end is up!

I made a big mistake today, one of indiscretion and personal boundaries and I am deeply ashamed of myself. I don’t know how to deal with it. More than anything, I’m worried about the fact that I put someone in a very vulnerable and potentially dangerous position.

Mem, don’t get stuck in shame. It is a dead-end street and serves no one, not you or the person who might have been hurt.

I am in a similar situation, not what I’d call “dangerous,” but in which I might have contributed to hurting the feelings of a sensitive person. If so, I am prepared to be totally honest and explain why I did what I did. It was selfish, but totally understandable. A mistake is just that — not intentional, not malicious. We are all human, and we all make them.

I’m prepared for this person to be angry with me and not want to talk to me again, and if so, I will take my lumps. If, on the other hand, he’s more hurt than angry, I will offer to take him out for coffee and talk about the deep underlying issues that led to the current state of affairs. It will be awkward and embarrassing, but I’ll do it. Due to the nature of the circumstances, I will wait to see whether my comments got back to him at all. But if I thought it would help matters to call attention to my mistake, I’d do that, too. My concern at this point, given my indiscretion, is for the other person and not myself. So I am waiting for direction to see what he needs from me, if anything.

Remember, Mercury is retrograde, and my advice always is to forgive others and yourself, too. Beyond that, we are up against some powerful forces this week, and I’m sure you and I aren’t the only ones who will be confronted with some karmic lessons.

Well, what I’m really worried about is that I may have put her in a very difficult position regarding her job. Given past office politics, she was already vulnerable. She is also the family breadwinner. I’m not so much worried about whether or not she’ll forgive me. I’m worried about whether I have caused her some very real permanent damage, ie, that she might lose her job. Even if I’ve permanently ruining the friendship is not as much a concern as actually hurting her and those she’s dependent on.

Hey, Pat: Thanks so much for the perspective. I definitely saw things completely askew. Last week was tough. The incident with my co-worker taught me that I have to work hard at not taking things too seriously and that I have to learn to relax. Don’t get me wrong, it was definitely a breach but it wasn’t entirely my fault.

The larger issue is a much bigger conflict that has been dragging on for months and that looked as if it would finally be resolved last week and then things fell through. It’s a much larger thing and it involves the entire company and, frankly, I’m at the point where I’m losing my patience. (This is not about my co-worker at all but it involves everyone there.) The situation reminds me a lot of my divorce many years ago. It dragged on and on and at the time I felt as if it would never actually happen. This is the same, only work-wise. I’m seriously losing patience. I was hoping this new moon would mean a resolution and an end of an era. Interestingly, I was talking to a friend yesterday who is in a similar position (at a completely different company in a different industry) and the same thing happened to her last week; the resolution was on the verge of happening and then it fell through at the last minute last week. Exhausting.